Work crews on Charles Street were still laying bricks today near the median at the intersection with 33rd Street – and there were piles of construction materials and porta-johns along the still-unpaved southbound portion of the street between Art Museum Drive and 29th Street.

But the Baltimore Department of Transportation has promised that cars will be rolling in both directions on Charles, between University Parkway and 29th Street, as early as the end of next week.

The city contacted community leaders with an update on the massive $25 million reconstruction project, underway for more than a year, that is designed to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety on the east side of Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus.

“We are pleased to announce that the NB and SB lanes from 29th street to University Parkway will be open to vehicular traffic on or about September 5th, 2014!” Kohl Erin Fallin, northwest transportation liaison for DOT, said in an email.

“The Project Manager advises that the project will be substantially complete by September 30th 2014,” Fallin wrote. “At this time, all sidewalks will be open and accessible to pedestrians.”

“Punch List” Work To Continue

Today, with Hopkins freshman orientation underway and classes set to start on Thursday, the spot where 33rd Street T’s into Charles was a vast expanse of brickwork and a relative safe-zone for pedestrians, with most of Charles still closed to vehicular traffic.

Likewise, around 34th Street, the brickwork looked pretty far along.

The project between there and University Parkway appears closer to completion, a cake-waiting-to-be-frosted with a last layer of paving. Streetlights, artwork, benches and other amenities appear to be in place and waiting for the plastic wrapping to be removed.

(On closer inspection, one art-piece looks to be a pile of bricks someone transformed, with creative stacking, into literal street art.).

South of there, particularly the stretch of Charles just above 29th Street, much work still appears to be undone. Fallin’s email to the community discusses future activities planned.

“While we have certainly reached a major milestone in the project, we still have additional items that must be completed, and other procedural activities the City must undertake to close out the project completely,” she said.

“Depending on weather conditions, community members could see additional activity in the Spring such as final surface paving of the roadway. Residents may see the contractor working in isolated areas fixing punch list items even after the substantial completion of the project,” she wrote.

(Fallin offered a parenthetical explanation of her use of the term “punch list,” which she defined as “a record of incomplete construction items covered by a contract,” adding that they are “typical to all DOT construction projects and are normally the tasks completed before a project is closed.”)

She also noted that, because the project received federal aid, the Maryland Highway Administration must inspect and approve before the project can be considered “closed out.”